Comic books translated into Arabic, from 1970


The best part of this 1970 magazine article about mideast-localized versions of Western comics is the sound of Batman punching someone with an Arabic THWOCK and POW. Link, and see also Superman in Arabic: link. (thanks, Ethan Persoff!)


Reader comment: Warren Grant says,

I just thought you might want to point people at a modern example of Arabic language superhero comics. There is a good summary on Wikipedia here: Link
Samir M. Nassar says,
Awesome! Superman in Arabic!

Nabil Fawzi roughly translates to 'Noble Victory' which gives the Arabic Superman an interesting depth. Not only does he have to be Superman but he has to live up to his name.

The added weight of the name doesn't take away from the 'everyman' feel of the name. Nabil, Fawzi and combinations thereof would be common Arab names in the eastern Mediterranean.

BoingBoing and Arabic, my two favorite things combined!

show full bio

Xeni Jardin

Boing Boing partner, Boing Boing Video host and executive producer. Xeni.net, Twitter, Google+. Email: xeni@xeni.net.

Where not otherwise specified, this work is licensed under a Creative Commons License permitting non-commercial sharing with attribution. Boing Boing is a trademark of Happy Mutants LLC in the United States and other countries.